Calling all romance novelists who write Medievals! You can brush up on your knowledge of heraldry by checking out the London College of Arms, aka College of Heralds, pictured above and located at 130 Queen Victoria Street. Heraldry: Origins A herald, or herald of arms, was originally a king’s or other nobleman’s messenger who conveyed […]
Title image: Westminster Abbey (1245) in the foreground, Big Ben (1859) and Houses of Parliament (1870) in the middle ground, the London Eye (1998) to the left background and the Gherkin (2001) in the extreme background and just to the right of Big Ben. I love making my settings a character in my stories. London […]
British Slang is a sequel to English Settings I: Britishisms. I’ll start where I started before: So you’re an American novelist and you’ve chosen to set your story in England. That’s great. But now here’s your problem: English. In my earlier blog I said that British slang was a category unto itself and completely delightful. […]
You’re an American novelist and you’ve decided to set your story in England. That’s great. But now here’s your problem: English. You need to get a handle on Britishisms. If your story is set in France, it’s perfectly legit for your characters not to speak French if they happen to be American. However, if your […]
Note: My blogs Visiting London, London Architecture, and Factual London are about factual London. This one is about fictional London. The present blog is about fictional London, that is, the London that figures as the setting for my two latest stories, The Alpha’s Edge and Buy Me Love. I thought it would be fun in […]
Note: I spent the last week of August in Factual London (which I am distinguishing from Fictional London). Visting London gives a sense of the cityscape. London Architecture praises its architecture. Here I offer further observations on my experience in the last international stop on my five-month around-the-world tour. Next I look at Fictional London. […]
Note: I spent the last week of August in London. Visiting London gives a sense of the cityscape. In this post I’ll delve into London Architecture. Georgian (1714-1830). When I visit London, I stay in Bloomsbury, an area chock full of Georgian architecture. The hotel where I stay, the Grange White Hall on Montague Street, is […]
London is my last stop on my around-the-world journey that began five months ago. You know you’re in London when … Look Right, Look Left signs are painted on the streets at every corner. Very helpful! These signs have helped me – and likely every foreign traveler – to escape disaster. Taxicabs are big, black […]